i mentioned the idea of florist simon x tattoo artist grace in this post and i have more ideas about them...
just. nerdy punk grace. think about him for a bit with me <3
he's covered in tattoos that, when you actually look at them, are mostly science-themed. a space sleeve. various microorganisms used as gap-fillers. a chemical formula over his collarbone (maybe one related to organosilicon as a nod to the idea of non-water-based life?)
and of course he has a fox somewhere (take a moment to imagine a running fox stretched across one side of his ribcage, its tail on his back and its face near his sternum)
and he Has to have piercings too. i'm imagining him with stretched earlobes, a good number of cartilage piercings, a septum, maybe an eyebrow piercing, a tongue piercing, and potentially nipples or something genital...
he still has the same backstory of being ousted from academia, but instead of becoming a teacher, he decided to get as far as possible from his former field
he's always been an artist, carrying a sketchbook around with his textbooks, and he has a very soothing presence, so he makes a great tattoo artist
he was in prison for a while, got out, moved across the country from where eden's commune is, and took the first job that accepted his application as a felon
he actually really likes it at the flower shop, more than he expected. it's calming work.
he tried to get rid of his eden tattoo by himself in prison (when he was at his worst mentally) but once he starts working he realizes he can get it professionally covered up
the shop grace works at is close to his workplace, so he goes in to ask how much it would cost to get a coverup
he's planning on getting an estimate and saving up for it, but grace tells him that he'll give him a pretty big discount since it's to cover a scar (they do actually offer discounts for that sort of thing, but he gives simon a bigger one because he wants to keep this gorgeous man in his shop for as long as possible)
love the idea of the coverup being a tree branch, stretching up from his shirt collar and over the side of his neck, reaching behind his ear and the underside of his jaw
they talk while grace tattoos him and end up pretty friendly by the end of the session
simon mentions that he works a block away and grace says they should share a lunch break sometime. he gives simon his business card with his number on it.
i don't tend to write longfics that don't have smut within the first 10k words or so because i get bored but. hmmm.